Let’s face it. We all have bad days. Whether you’re putting up with rude drivers or crabby co-workers, we all deal with the Eeyore’s of the world. You know, the old grey donkey from Winnie the Pooh with his gloomy disposition who uses catchphrases like “Thanks for noticin’ me” and “Ohhh-kayyy.”

Maybe you’re in a season of your life where you feel like Eeyore. You have come to believe that there is really no point in trying because whatever it is, you are bound to fail. You expect hardship to happen to you, and so you accept it when it does.

This is a chancy place to be, my friends. You must let your inner light shine, in spite of your circumstances. Whatever roadblocks, mishaps, trials or tribulations you face, let God turn your mourning into dancing. Let him clothe you with gladness. Use your voice to give thanks and sing praise for all the blessings in your life. Psalm 30:11-12 (ESV). (more…)

Over the summer, I was invited to be a contributing author for the website www.believe.com, owned by Spark Networks whose mission is to create iconic, niche-focused brands that build and strengthen the communities they serve. It has been an exciting experience that has caused me to delve deeper into my faith as I have been given assignments that I would typically never think to write about. Topics like jealousy and facing the enemy. I’m more of a peace, love and happiness kind of gal, so when I was asked to write about the enemy, it scared me. But, facing our fears is how we grow, and I have certainly grown from this experience. (more…)

How do you know when God speaks to you? What is it that signals that God is there, or here, or with us?

As a child, I imagined a loud, roaring voice, thundering from the heavens, commanding me to obediently follow his direction…or else pay the consequences. I always thought that God would literally speak to me. After all, he speaks to everyone else, right? That’s what they told me in church, so I waited. Nothing.

Then I was diagnosed with an inoperable lesion in my brain, lost the use of my right side due to the intensive radiation treatments that followed, and was told I wasn’t going to live to be thirty years old.

I would cry out, “Why God? Why would you do this to me? Am I being punished? What did I do to deserve this short life sentence? Please heal me. Please heal me. Please!”

Each year, for the last twenty-some-odd years, we drive 650 miles from Orange County to Shasta County, California. As kids, it was certainly the highlight of our summer. Now that all of us are grown, we bring our own families and stake out our own campsites. But my parents have had the same campsite, with the same fire pit, for what seems like forever. Think of how many stories have been told around that campfire. Think of all the games of charades, scrabble and monopoly have been played at that site. We have some good memories there, that’s for sure.

And the lake, with bathtub water temperature and a million coves to choose from, you could spend the day floating around, doing a whole lot of nothing. Soaking in the sun, then cooling off with a dip. It’s the kind of thing that makes you go, “Ahhh!”

Not to mention the bicycle riding! When we’re not in the water, we ride bikes everywhere. For me nowadays, I only have the strength to ride an adult tricycle. But that’s okay. I can still ride. (more…)

In everything you do, listen to your gut feeling, or that voice inside your head. Some may call it intuition, but I believe it’s the voice of God. When you hear God speak, and you actually listen, you will be blessed. (more…)